Can you explain Acts 4:12?

Acts 4:12 says, “Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (NKJV). The apostle Peter had healed an impotent man and he was asked by some religious rulers, “By what power or by what name have you done this” (verse 7). His reply to them is given in verse 10, “Let it be known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by THE NAME OF JESUS CHRIST of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from among the dead, by Him this man stands here before you whole.” It was “the name of Jesus Christ” that brought healing to the impotent man! But men need more than “physical healing,” they need “spiritual healing,” so in verse 12 Peter takes this opportunity to tell them that through that same name God offers salvation to all men.

In Matthew 1:20-21 an angel told Joseph, “Do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. And she shall bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins.” The name Jesus means “Savior!” He was born into this world to “save His people from their sins” and this is what Peter was speaking of. Everyone but Jesus was born in sin and practices sin. Romans 3:23 declares “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Sin brings with it serious consequence, for we read in Romans 6:23, “For the wages of sin is DEATH.” Hebrews 9:29 adds, “As it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the JUDGMENT.” So, sin has a two-fold penalty: DEATH and JUDGMENT. We need to be saved from death and judgment and Jesus was born to save us! And as Peter said, He is the only one that can save us. He went to the cross to accomplish salvation, for it was there that He took our sins upon Himself and bore the judgment due to those sins (see Isaiah 53:5-6; 1st Peter 2:24; 3:18 and 2nd Corinthians 5:21).

Jesus Himself revealed that He alone was the Savior. In John 10:9 He said, “I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved.” Later, in John 14:6, He stated: “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” Dear reader, Jesus is “the door” of salvation and “the way” to heaven and the only way you will enter into heaven is “through Him.”

Let me ask you directly, “Are you saved?” Jesus longs to save you, for He said in Luke 19:10, “The Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which is lost.” But in order to be saved you MUST BELIEVE He is the Savior; in other words, you must BELIEVE ON HIS NAME. We are told in John 1:12, “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become the children of God, to those WHO BELIEVE IN HIS NAME.” We would plead with you believe in His name right now! Many people are trying to save themselves through doing good works, giving money to charity, living by the Golden Rule, keeping the Ten Commandments, being baptized, and a host of other ways. But Jesus is the ONLY WAY and if you will believe on Him as your Savior you will be saved. Acts 16:31 assures us of this, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved.” (247.3) (DO)